Rheinmetall Portable typewriter S 09/2552 USSR Occupied Germany

The Life Story of Really Old Things -

A few days ago I was lamenting the loss of the freedom of CD's because I liked being able to put a cd in the dash and play an album I wanted to hear. I am so far behind in IPhone and modern car stuff that I can't do that with my current technology although I am aware that it can be done.

At home, in my e-mail newsfeed, I came across an article about how some young people are embracing old technologies like cd's and cassettes for that very freedom and autonomy. We don't all want to be tethered to the cloud or wifi.

The thought persisted and I was thinking how I wished I had a portable typewriter so I wasn't dependent on my always unreliable printer. I have spent literally hundreds of dollars on having the repair guy come out and get it working when I was doing a project and none of the usual processes could get it working again. Every storm knocked it (wifi) out. I had to turn off the router, unplug everything then wait a couple of hours, plug everything in and wait for the router and hope it would work, which it often did not. So then I would start replacing the expensive ink cartridges that seemed to get used up or dry up on their own regardless of usage. How cool it was in the past to put in a piece of paper and type what I wanted and there it was!

I looked up vintage portable typewriters and found most places that had them on offer had closed and their telephone numbers didn't work anymore. Amazon had them starting at #190. Suddenly, I remembered I had a very old portable up in the attic that I had used years ago when I did presentations on World War 2 Women Journalists! It was a 1947 (?) Rheinmetal portable in perfect condition, though gummed up by age. I had bought it for $25 from a vintage shop that has since gone out of business. It was a popular prop in that presentation and kids in particular were entranced by how you could hit the keys and the words came out on paper! Back then, it worked.

I took my life in my hands and climbed the attic steps and brought down my prize. It was so gummed up the keys couldn't rouse themselves to the task so I looked up typewriter repair and restoration. Again, all the ones in New Jersey were out of business, but there was one in Philadlphia that was still open and functioning on Passyunk Street. I called and indeed they were still there and still repairing and restoring. I told the man on the line my model name and number and he said it was a very good model. In fact, my online search had told me that my model S 09.2552 was a very good model. That was what the S stood for 'Special high quality' and the 09 gave the location which was Sommerda, Germany. It also said it was USSR Occupied Germany, so it was a post war machine.

I had to decide if it was worth it to put that money out to restore the typewriter but I decided that it was because it seems to me that something that had survived bombs, occupation, all the destruction and chaos of that part of Europe for almost 80 years deserved respect and care. Maybe I feel that way because I just turned 80.

My sister, bless her generous heart, has agreed to go with me next week to take the machine to the repair shop. I am excited about this new venture into the past.

Some of you may have read my posts about my 100 year old Singer sewing machine and my quest for a 100 year old sewing machine table to go with it. This makes me think long and hard about these formidable survivors, these hard working companions. I wish the typewriter could type its own story and tell me how it got to New Jersey, how it left Europe, and who it traveled with and when. My heart goes out to these survivors; I guess that makes me a kind of romantic. I still think about the metal trunk I bought that had the letters and baby shoes of a Greek immigrant in it. How sad that these items were unloved and put out into the market. I feel I have rescued this typewriter which, unlike the sewing machine was not a member of my family, but it deserves a family.

If you wish to contact me, please use my e-mail not comments which is polluted by spam. wrightj45@yahoo.com

Happy Trails